Wasim Akram needed just 26 balls to take his first Hampshire wicket after John Crawley lost his first toss as captain.

Hampshire's season began in glorious Bank Holiday sunshine at Worcester's picturesque New Road ground, where Wasim's first county championship appearance in five years helped attract a bumper 2,412 crowd.

But it was always going to be a day for Ben Smith, Worcestershire's new captain, and not Crawley when the toss landed in the home side's favour.

For once, New Road has survived a winter without being flooded by the River Severn. That and the recent hot spell made made it a bat first wicket and Smith capitalised with a ton in front of Worcester's biggest championship crowd since 1999.

Wasim, playing his first first-class game in 14 months, conceded his first runs with his fourth delivery for Hampshire, when Stephen Peters guided a no ball through gully - the first of his eight boundaries.

But, with the first ball of his fifth over, he swung the ball into Anurag Singh, trapping the right hander leg before shortly after Jimmy Adams had dropped him at third slip off Alan Mullally.

Wasim's first spell, 6-2-17-1, ended with Graeme Hick at the crease but the former England man was unusually circumspect on a flat, albeit slowish track, in his first game since being replaced as captain.

Hick had been at the crease for 16 overs before he pulled Ed Giddins for his first boundary.

But he crashed a backfoot drive to the fence in the first over of Wasim's second spell and a post-lunch duel between the former Test adversaries followed.

Wasim found Hick's outside edge with a lifter from the New Road End, which dropped just short of Derek Kenway at first slip.

When Hick brought up his fifty with a single off the next ball, he looked set for a ton but he drove Mullally to John Crawley at cover after putting on 73 with Smith, who was scoring at a far quicker rate than his predecessor.

Smith needed 161 balls for his 104, which included 15 fours, while Hick needed 160 balls for his 72.

Hick's one six was lofted over mid-wicket off the part-time bowling of Will Kendall, who was only on because Giddins was in hospital having stitches applied to a finger injury.

Giddins, Hampshire's other debutant, missed most of the afternoon session as there was no doctor on the ground, having attempted to stop a Hick drive off his own bowling.

It had been an inauspicisous start to Giddins's Hampshire career.

He had been struck for a flurry of boundaries by Peters in his first spell but he was a different bowler after returning from Worcester A&E.

With the help of the second new ball, he uprooted David Leatherdale's middle stump in spectacular fashion, seven overs after Shaun Udal had dismissed the fluent Vikram Solanki with a smart catch off his own bowling.

And Giddins was the man who finally dismissed Smith, who had hit both of his two sixes over mid- wicket off Udal before he was pinned in front having pushed half forward.

But Wasim had the final say, trapping Gareth Batty leg before in similar fashion to his first Hampshire wicket. Two and counting...

Worcestershire closed on 318-7.